Railway car door mechanism



April 25, 1950 o. INGRAM RAILWAY CAR DOOR MECHANISM 2 Sheeis-Sheet l Filed sept. 1o, 1945 u Juventus llevram,

afnam/45 April 25, 1950 o. INGRAM RAILWAY CAR DOOR MECHANISM 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 `Filed Sept. 10, 1945 Patented Apr. 25, 1950 zosaso PAT-Em '2,505,290

mnwxyoen noon-Meenemen ',nviilelngram, Washington, D. c. ffspiiiicatbiseotemmr 1o,-1945,seeia1 Nef-@6153139 seniors. (01.,105-1406) @My :invention frentes-'gato -firaiiway freight v:cars n and :is particularly napplicable :to igondnla oars havingwdrop zdoorsnofzthefftype; wherein tl'iefmoman :ment ofithe 'doorjrom openggposition toiclosed position necessitatesaovemomingfitssweight. n

Such doorsfarel'iargeiand cumbersome Weighfngnpon an avenageiinvthe neighborhoodfof BOU oro pounds inggondola ears-oommonlyfin use.

;periencedinirnovingsuohfdoorszupwardly against lIimechaniealfmear'isii-fV the ,i-atter, isl'available; rand since these doors swing downwardlygto xopen :position-.underline nuenceooffgravity, itnot inirequentlyfoeours', particularlnin thelea'sefofisowalled drop endidoorsfof 4:gondola gears, that the v. men engage-ad in ymanipulating Y.the doorsuifer fin- Juryias ,a .Lxte'sultiof ,the "i-lior` ,gettingout of their .eonti'oland .suddenlyswingingstoward Lopen posi- :,ftion.

AThe primary` .objectief 4the invention is to pitoicide a railway oar V'having ,o one ior more hinged :doors .which swing' to Qnenpositmn under the influence of x'gra.vity .with .means Venabling such d'oorsto yloe readily closeimanually Without the expenditure ofgreat effort.

, Aifurther objectjfLthe invention.' is assoeiate with car door, Whichsvvingslto `-'open position under the inu'eno'e of 'gravity, simple, nonpac't, .practical .and Lfeiif'eetive means, which are .enerygiz'edby the door during'its opening movement so as toexert 'upon the vldoorv aforce' tending *to r'ri'ove the .door-'towards closed position.

Alprincipalffeature of Athe uinvention consists in Aassociating, ina railway ear,.a 1`1`inged 'door of "the .type vvlieijeing the weight :thereof opposes ,inovementof'the 'dooffoin 'opento elosedfpositin, and Atorsion ,sping meansvv-adapted 'to be energies-' 1 bythe door upon fits -oivejnlg 'nove- .gmena the door v,beingprovided with abn'trinent :abutmentmeansonovablefnzithithevdoor.

A; furthei' "feature-:of ,therinvention,consiSiiS-Hin sassociatingninga.raiiway caneahingedsdoorpf the :nm-sieri` ,ebenen assises @diesem @the i y :torsion spring means ,operatively V.interposed be- .2 hinged edge of the door and extendingwtransversely .of the y--door@adjacent the vhinged :edge 1t-hereof, said ydoorihaving@mounted thereon means cooperating with theiendsarof :adjacent springs vr'to maintain said springs :in operative relation :to the door, andveachf-offsaid :springs sa `pontion which 1 engagespooperating 'parts `of :the -foar body constituting spring,abutmentsfortm spring. A :furtherv feature of f the inventonvconsistsin associating, in 1 a =raiiway nar,.;,a hinged door rof the type wherein .fthe YWeight .thereof opposes-its `movement fromnpen position to closed position, va, plurality of torsionahelicalpsprings positioned adjacent the 1hinged-edgerof ithe door Witntheir axes substantially eoincidentsw-ith the :hinge-farcis of #the door, andmpluralityf'of -members carried `Lay-the door formaintaining thespringsin said axial position, .it-l'iefdoor Vhav-ing /mea-ns movable therewith which Yengage :and farefadapted to energize fthe respective cspringsgand each-oi said springsfbeing provided with avportion engaging a xed part of the car-body in springfabutment relation therto. n

A further Yfeature `of the. inventioneonsists :in associating, in arailway carga hinged-door ofthe type .whose weight opposes nits .movement from open position to closedv,positio n, a-plurality of torsion khelical springsgextending insubstantial `ari-al alignmenttransversely. of the doorradlj aoent `the hingedgedgegthereof, .andorneans forgma'intaining the 4springs in.ioperfative .relation to the Ldoor .and to each door,ssaidmeanssincludinga pluralityof members-,which are carried by the `door ,and are 'formed Iwith oppositely disposed portions which :project into the. respectively adjacent springs.

,-A further featre of ,the invention .consistscin associating, ,in .a .railway gon'dola kear, a `hinged doorof the typefwhoseweight opposesrits-movement .from open,position toclose'd position, and

,tween the doorfand a .ixedfpartof-,the car and adapted -to ,benergiz'edby the door duringts opening movement, thetorsionspiiing meansextending transversely of the car adja'oent `its hinged edge, and the door having a portion adja- .cent its hinge `axis "which `isin ytivterlztppng freiation to'the torsionspringmeans. y

vOther features iof the invention, residing `in advantageous forms,4 combinations and relations of parts, will hereinafter .appeawand be ,pointed :out in the 'cl-aims.

Figure 1 is a transverse sectional view of a portion of a railway gondola car of the drop end door type, the door being in closed or upright position.

Figure 2 is a sectional View taken on line 2-2 of Figure 1. Y

Figure 3 is a view also taken on line 2 2 of Figure 1 but showing the door in open position.

Figure 4 is a detail elevational View illustrating a preferred form of hinge means for cooperating with a hinge pintle bracket secured to the door, the relation of the pintle thereto being indicated by dot and dash lines.

Figure 5 is a plan View of the hinge bracket shown in Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a detail end elevational view of one of the combined hinge brackets and spring holders carried by the door.

Figure 'l is a detail central sectional view of one of the intermediate spring holders carried by the door.

As illustrated in the drawings, the invention is applied to a gondola car having a drop end door I which is hinged at its lower edge to the sides 2 of the car. The door, when closed, is in substantially vertical position and is maintained against an accidental opening movement by any suitable or preferred locking mechanism, such, for example, as the well known hook form of locking mechanism 3 which is adapted to have locking engagement with means secured to the corner post 4 of the car body. The side walls 2 of the car may be -provided with side stakes 5, as is commonly the case, and the car floor v 6* may be composed of transversely extending wood planks which are Ysupported at their ends on the horizontal flanges o f the i'loor supporting angles 1 at opposite sides of the car. The car underframe illustrated is ofla well known form providing side sills 8 and a center sill 9 but, i

like the sides and oor of the car body, may be of any usual construction.

Operatively interposed between the door and the car body are torsion spring means preferably comprising a plurality of springs IU of helical form. Each of these springs which may advantageously be under some initial torsional stress when the door is in closed position, is

provided at one end with a projecting portion lor arm II engaging the door and each of which is also provided at its other end with a projecting portion or arm I2 for cooperating with a xed part of the car. For the purpose of providing an abutment on the .door for cooperating with the projecting arms I I of the torsional helical springs, the door may be preferably provided near its hinge axis with a reinforcing member I3 which may conveniently be in the form of` a bulbangle. .If desired, the arms I2 of the torsion spring, instead of directly engaging the iloor of the car, may have contact with metal plates It which rest upon the'floor and are secured thereto. The helical torsional springs extend transversely of the door 2 with their axes of the tain it in assembled relation to the door.

the purpose of maintaining the latter in alignment and in operative relation to the door I. The door is preferably hinged to the car body by means of brackets I'I, one of which is rigidly secured to the door at opposite sides of the car. Each of these hinge brackets is provided with a cylindrical projection I8 which enters the bore of the neighboring helical spring i0 to main- Each of these hinge brackets I'I is also provided with a cylindrical trunnion I9 which cooperates with a hinge bracket 20 secured to the neighboring car side. The brackets I5 and Il are preferably respectively secured to the two legs of the reinforcing angle I3 and consequently serve to rigidify it. The hinge bracket 20 is preferably formed with jaws 2l which are curved at their inner ends to provide a cylindrical bearing for the trunnion I9 of the hinge bracket I6 and it may also be formed with a plate portion 22 whereby it may be riveted to the side of the car. When the door I is in assembled relation to the car body, the hinge trunnion vIS is retained in position by means of a bolt 23 which passes through openings of the jaws 2 I.

As will be seen upon reference to Figures l and 2 of the drawings, the door is preferably provided adjacent its hinge axis with a portion 24 which overlaps the springs Il! and thereby serves to protect them when theldoor is in open position. This portion 24 of the door preferably terminates suiilcientlyv far above the floor 6 to afford clearance for any material, such as coal, that otherwise might become packed along the hinged edge of the door and interfere with its operation.

When the door executes an opening movement, its weight energizes the several torsional springs I0 simultaneously and, as the axes of the springs are in alignment with the hinge axis of the door, the torsion imparted to the springs is proportional to the change in angular movement of the door throughout its movement to open position. When fully opened the free edge of the projecting ilange of the angle I3 may ccnveniently rest on a fixed part of the car iioor to support the hinged edge of the door. A single spring for the -purpose intended would be prohibitive in dimensions and so` would be impractical and, if it were of suitable v dimensions enabling it to be applied toa car, it would be unsatisfactory in use because the great weight of the door would cause it to be overstressed. The use of torsion spring means comprising a plurality of torsion springs is especially advantageous in that, if one spring should fail, the workman still has some control of the door and does not suddenly have its entire weight come upon him, and moreover there .is no twisting tendency of the door which would tend to shift it out of parallel relation to its hinge axis.

. WhatIclaim is:

1. In a railway car, the combination of a hinged sheet metal door whosev weight opposes its movement froml open position to closed position, torsion springs associated with the door adjacent the hinged vedge thereof adapted to'be energized by said door upon an opening movement thereof, a reinforcing member extending along the hinged edge of the door having a plate portion secured to the'inner face of the door and an angularly disposed plate portion disposed above said spring means for preventing crate'd lading within the car from shifting into engagement with said spring means .when the door is 5 closed, each of said spring means having spaced portions respectively engaging a fixed portion of the car andthe said plate portion of the re inforcing member secured to the door.

2. In a railway car, the combination of a hinged sheet metal door whose weight opposes its movement from open to closed position, torsion spring means associated with the hinged edge of the door adapted to be energized upon an opening movement of the door, a reinforcing member extending along the hinged edge of the door, said reinforcing member having a portion projecting from the inner face of the door above said spring means adapted to rest uponia xed part of the car when the door is in open position, and each of said springs having one end portion engageable with said reinforcing memlber and the other end portion engageable with `a xed part of the car body.

3. In a railway car, the combination of a hinged sheet metal door whose weight OpDOses its ,movement from open position to closed position,

1a plurality ofv torsion springs mounted on the inner face of the door adapted to be energized by said door upon an opening movement thereof, an angle reinforcing member extending along the hinged edge of the door having a leg secured to the inner face of the door and a leg projecting inwardly therefrom above said spring means, and a plurality of members secured to both legs of said reinforcing angle and respectively inter posed between adjacent springs for maintaining them in operative relation, and each of said springs having portions respectively in engagement with said reinforcing member and a xed part of the car.

ORVILLE INGRAM.

REFERENCES CITED n The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,066,146 Priebe July 1, 1913 1,580,333 Roesh Apr. 13, 1926 1,688,685 Campbell Oct. 23, 1928 1,735,652 ODowd Nov. 12, 1929 1,735,717 Antrim Nov. 12, 1929 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 11,682 Great Britain Aug. 13, 1892 

